Where Are You Now
by zomgitsmarisa
Summary: Joe let go of the best thing that ever happened to him. JONAS oneshot. JoexStella


**A/N: Wow, this came out really bad D: It's like, two in the morning and I've been itching to get this idea onto paper for weeks, so I finally decided to do it. Darn insomnia D: I feel terrible about never uploading or anything, and I'll probably just rewrite this at some point. Until then, enjoy I guess xP  
Semi-based on the song 'Where Are You Now' by Honor Society.**

**JONASJONASJONAS**

"Hey, Joe, you ready?"

Joe turned at the sound of his younger brother's voice, nodding. "Yeah. I just need to get a couple things and I'll be down,"

Nick grinned, his curls falling in front of his dark brown eyes. "Great. I'll see you in a few," And with that he was gone, leaving Joe alone in his empty room.

It was hard to believe that it was all over, they were leaving. It felt like just yesterday that the Lucas family had moved into the firehouse and started JONAS. They were in a new chapter in their lives now. Nick was going off to do a solo career, Kevin was getting married, and Joe… Well, Joe wasn't exactly sure on what was in store for him.

Glancing around the spacious room one last time, he checked once again for anything else he may have left behind. The last two weeks had been such a blur with packing and moving; he probably would've lost his head if it hadn't been attached to his body.

He walked around, trying to imprint the moment into his memory. So much had happened here, and now it would all be gone. They were starting fresh, moving on.

He walked over to his closet, peering inside to check that he hadn't left anything behind. A small shoebox sat in the corner, collecting dust. Puzzled, Joe reached down and picked it up, wondering why he hadn't packed it away with the rest of his things in the first place.

It was sealed tightly, as if it were never to be opened again. Blowing away at the thin layer of dust covering it, Joe peeled at the duct tape holding the lid on, gently ripping it away until he was able to completely remove the top.

There lay a picture of Stella Malone.

A million thoughts raced through Joe's mind as he picked up the photograph, brushing his thumb against her younger image. She was smiling, her baby blue eyes shining in the sunlight. She was just as beautiful as Joe remembered her, if not more. It'd been so long since he'd seen that smile. Flipping it over, he read the date on the back- September 2009. Right after they'd first started dating.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Joe continued to go through the box. It was a Stella box, complete with the familiar scent of her flowery perfume that he'd loved. There were pictures of them from when they were kids back in kindergarten, all the way to the night of their senior prom.

She was so beautiful… How had he let her go?

"_What the hell, Joe?!?"_

"_I'm sorry, Stell, we've just been so busy…" Joe muttered into his cell phone, tugging at a loose string at the hem of his shirt. If Stella had been there she would've killed him for ruining his clothes._

"_Busy? Oh yeah, busy making out with a random girl. Don't lie to me, Joe. I can see right through you," She spat out, and Joe could almost imagine the scowl on her face._

"_Wh-What are you talking about?"_

"_Are you stupid? Pictures of you and some phony redhead leaked onto the internet. Don't think I don't know what you're really doing,"_

"_But Stella, I can explain…" He started, wondering how to get out of the mess he'd made._

"_Explain what? Never returning my calls? Avoiding me whenever you can? If you don't want to go out with me anymore, just tell me instead of going and cheating on me!"_

"_I… No. This is a total misunderstanding, Stella,"_

"_No! It's not! I'm sick and tired of putting up with your shit, Joe! We're through!"_

"_Stella-"_

_But it was too late. He stared at his phone in disbelief, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat before closing it, realizing what a huge mistake he'd made._

Joe blinked back tears, placing all the memorabilia in a neat little pile beside him. There was everything in here, from the ticket stub from their first movie date, to a shell they'd found at the beach.

Buried all the way at the bottom of the box was a letter, sealed up in an envelope with a stamp and everything, addressed to Stella.

Curious, Joe tore it open, not caring that he was ripping the envelope. A piece of lined looseleaf fluttered out.

An apology note. He quickly scanned the letter, biting down on his lip. What had he done?

Not a day went by when he didn't think of Stella. She'd been the light of his life, the one he could always count on. And one little mistake had ruined it all.

He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her. What was she doing now? Did she have a boyfriend? Was she even still alive? After they'd broken up she'd severed contact with them, and he hadn't heard from her since then.

"Joe?"

Joe whipped around, finding Frankie standing in the doorway.

"Nick said that you would be down in a minute. It's been like, ten,"

"Oh," Joe managed to get out, realizing that he must have lost track of time while going through the shoebox. "Uhm, sorry. I just have to put this stuff away…"

Frankie gave him a funny look before shrugging, running back downstairs to report to his older brother.

Joe turned his attention back towards the box, picking up the only thing left. A slip of paper with a phone number scrawled across it in Stella's bubbly, girl handwriting.

Shaking, Joe slid his hand into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone, carefully punching in the phone numbers.

He was going to try and fix this. He couldn't let her go.


End file.
